Hydrophobia
by Dapper Dee VI
Summary: After a mix up at the Space Port, Nago the Cat ends up where he didn't want to be. Ever.
1. Chapter 1: The Wrong Flight

**Fear ye not, for I will still update The New Meta-Knights, but this has just been on my mind a while. It will be fairly short, probably a two or threeshot.**

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The alarm went off. A furry white paw groggily reached out from the depths of the cover and hit the snooze button. The occupant rolled over in bed and stared sleepily at the time. 5:30. Of course it was. He was going on holiday today.

The cat stepped out of his little round bed and stretched. Then, he sat down and began to lick himself. After a minute or two, he stood up, and looked in the mirror.

"Nago, you are one cool cat!" he greeted his reflection. He smiled, stretched again, and padded into the kitchen. He sat down at the table, and poured himself a bowl of dried cat food, Cat Crunchers, and splashed it with milk. He started to eat it, giving his brain some time to come to. After a while, he licked the bowl clean, and hopped of the chair. He returned to his bedroom, and, resisting the temptation to curl up in bed again, took a suitcase out from on top of the wardrobe. He opened it and checked the contents. Mobile phone, check. Books, check. Laser pen, check. Ball of wool, check. Pouches of cat food, check. Emergency fish supply, check. Picture of girlfriend Shiro, check. Bag of catnip, check. Favourite pillow, check. Pouch of stars, check. Good, everything was there.

He checked the clock. 5:45. Good, still on time. He picked up his luggage and opened the door. He breathed in the cool, morning air. The sun was just peeking out over the horizon, turning the early morning mist a gentle gold. He smiled, choosing to ignore the wet dew on the grass beneath him. He locked up his house and started on the dusty path to the main town.

•••

After a few minutes of walking be came to the town. Cappy Town. It was fairly quite being still early and all, but Nago didn't mind. In fact, he rather preferred it this way. Soon, a taxi headed down the road. He stopped it and got in. "To the Space Port, please," he instructed the driver. The driver, a deep blue Pengi, nodded and began driving.

"So, which planet you off to then?" the Pengi asked as they travelled down the road.

"Ripple Star," he smiled back, trying not to drop off.

"Ah," he said, "I'd go to Shiver Star myself, but I suppose that's because I come from White Wafers." Nago nodded in agreement and continued to stare out the window, purring as the world sped by.

Soon, they pulled up outside the Space Port. As far as Dreamland's buildings went, this one was by farther most futuristic and newest. Having opened just last month, it has become fairly popular, members of all species queued up to travel to a different planet. "So how much do I owe ya?" asked the cat.

"16 Stars," replied the bird, checking the meter.

"I'll give you four and a salmon," proposed Nago, holding up both.

"Done," agreed the Pengi, who loved fish just as much as Nago, if nit more. "Have a nice flight!"

"Thanks," smiled the cat, hauling his luggage out if the taxi. He looked up at the great silver building. He checked his watch. 6:00. Still on schedule. He wandered inside and looked around. Members of all species milled about, with suitcases, rucksacks and handbags stuffed with holiday essentials. He started heading for the queue associated with his flight, when he suddenly collided with something wet and cold and slippery. He hissed at it and leapt back.

"Sorry," said familiar voice "I'd better look where I'm going." Rubbing his head, the feline good to his feet and looked at who he'd just crashed into. It was a large blue sunfish with yellow fins. "Oh, hi Kine," sighed the cat. Out of all the Animal Buddies, Kine was probably Nago's least favourite, almost entirely due to his permanent wetness. "How are you out if the water?"

"Oh, I've just had an operation. As long as I keep wet, I'm fine!"

Nago shuddered at this, as he hated the thought if being constantly wet. "I guess you're off to Aqua Star then?" asked Nago, changing the subject.

"Yep," smiled the fish, hopping over to his line. "I think you might like it there, its got plenty of fish."

"Its too wet for me," explained the feline, walking alongside his fishy friend "I'd much prefer Ripple Star. Its apparently very warm and peaceful, with plenty or rodents and little birds, and space to lie in the sun and snooze."

"Why don't you like water?" asked Kine, dumbfounded.

"Cats don't, its law," he replied.

"I love its so wet and refreshing,"

"That's why I don't like it, its too wet..."

_And thus the argument began_

_Checking in_

"It's so cold,"

"Not always,"

_At customs_

"Its get under my fur and I get uncomfortable,"

"Its fine when you get used to it,"

_At passport control_

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it,"

"Just go for a couple if swims,"

_Checking in the luggage_

"I can't, I can't swim!"

"Why not? It's easy!"

_Boarding the flight_

"You're a fish, it comes naturally to you,"

"Fair enough, lets just say I love it and you hate it, OK?"

"Sure,"

They sat down in their seats on board the sleek silver rocket-plane.

They sat there in silence as it blasted out of the atmosphere. "I'm on the wrong flight, aren't I?" asked Nago after a while.

"Yes, you are."

"*sigh* "

**Done this chapter! Still got a little more to do, but, as I said, I'll still update The New Meta-Knights regularly! **


	2. Chapter 2: Uncle Glunk

**Sorry for not updating my fics recently! Here goes!**

After a six-and-a-half hour flight (interplanetary travel takes a while, ok?) Kine and Nago arrived on Aqua Star. They landed in the space port and, after receiving their luggage from the carousel, headed towards the main area of the building, a large space filled with shops and people. Mine hopped off to The Fish Food Bar to eat, and Nago decided that he would head into Uncle Glunk's Fishy Fry-Up. He entered the fast food joint and hopped to the back of the queue. It wasn't very long so he was soon face-to-face with an old greasy Glunk. "What can I get yer?" asked the anemone, "Wait, yer on if them cats, ain't yer?"

"Umm, yes, I was last time I checked," said Nago.

"We don't gets you lot round 'ere much, yous cats,"

"Well, why's you think that would be?" asked Nago, slightly sarcastically.

"Well, I thinks that yous hates water an' yous are just scared to come to a place which 'as lots of it,"

"Yeah, you see I got on the wrong rocket and-"

"Listen, kid, I didn't ask fer yer life story. Gives me yer order or shove off!"

"Sheesh!" said the feline, slightly off put by the outburst, "I'll have a Blipper Burger with Fishy Fries, and Grape Pep Brew and, err, a Blueberry Muffin, please,"

"Coming' up," replied the green creature, using his stretchy tentacles to reach and prepare the various items of food "There yer go," he said, shoving the packages not Nago's arms, "That's 18 Stars," the cat reached into his wallet and produced a pawful. He placed them on the counter. The Glunk quickly counted them, and nodded. "Next!" he ordered, as Nago walked out and sat on a bench, chewing in his food. Soon, a familiar voice sounded behind him, nearly causing him to choke on his chips (that's fries to all you Americans). "Oi, got any water? I'm beginning to dry up here!" Nagel turned and faced Kine. "Yeah," he said, pulling out a bottle.

"Thanks," he Saud, receiving it, "But I though you hated the stuff."

"Drinking water is allowed," explained the cat, putting a generous dollop of Squishi Sauce in his burger.

"Oh, OK," said the fish, and unscrewed the lid. Without warning, he skashed the contents on himself. "Whew!" he said, "That's a well-needed refreshment."

"Uh, yeah," said the feline, accepting the empty bottle back. "I'm going to see when the next flight to Ripple Star is, or the next back to Pop Star at least."

"I'll come too!" smiled the fish. Nago sighed and trudged over to the nearest desk, with the sunfish hopping along behind.

"Excuse me?" asked Nago to the female Squishi on the other side if the desk. "When is the next flight to Ripple Star?"

She tapped away on her keyboard for a second with her tentacles and read off the screen. "In tomorrow at seven pm," she announced.

"And back to Pop Star?"

Just leaving now," she Saud, pointing out the large glass window, where a rocket was just taking off, "Then the next is in two days," she Saud helpfully.

Nago sadly watched it shrink into a speck. "C'mon," said the ever-cheery Kine, "You've got another day to kill, why not spend it with me at the Underwater Hotel?"

Nago sighed, and padsed off, following the fish as he hopped outside.


	3. Chapter 3: Subtaxi

**For those two people reading this, enjoy!**

Nago picked up his bags and followed Mine as he flopped his way towards the exit. As soon as he stepped outside, the cat let out a sound which, if it could be written down, would be spelt "Mreorolw!" as he teetered on the edge of a small jetty. The entire horizon was water. Wet water. The space port was on a tiny island in a sea of water. It was his worst nightmare.

"Chillax, dude," said Mine, patting him on the back with a soggy fin, "I'll call you a Subtaxi, we can go to the Undersea Hotel for one night, and you can be on your rocket tomorrow.

"OK," breathed Nago, "Its fine- what did you say _Underwater _Hotel?"

"Yeah, and Subtaxi,"

"A what?"

As if in answer, a submarine, sleek black, with the word 'Subtaxi' written on a panel on the top, surfaced from the deep. The window of the, in lack of a better word, cockpit, wound down, revealing a Pengi.

"Hey, I thought you was going to Ripple Star?" asked the Pengi, looking quizzically at Nago.

"I got on the wrong rocket and- what, were you the Pengi in the taxi this morning?"

"Yeah, that was me. I got transferred. Anyway, where to?"

"The Underwater Hotel," said Kine, "But only for the cat, I'm swimming."

And with that, he jumped off in the water. Nago hesitantly climbed into the Subtaxi and it descended, diving after his fishy friend.

•••

"Everything ok back there?" asked the Pengi to Nago in the back seat.

Nago gave a shaky thumbs up, and curled up into a panicked ball. After a while, they got down to a, or rather _the_, Underwater Hotel. It was spectacular building. It was blue, a sea blue, pointed and futuristic, jutting out from a cliff face like a... hotel jutting out of a cliff face (it was incomparable to anything else, sorry). Nago momentarily forgot his hydrophobia has he gazed at it in awe, before remembering and resumed it.

The Subtaxi and Mine drove/swam into an opening in the side. The door slide shut and the water flushed out if the room, as if someone had pulled out a giant plug. The door of the Subtaxi opened, and the Pengi looked expectantly at Nago.

"34 Stars please," he sai, holding out a flipper, "And I checked, salmon aren't acceptable payment."


End file.
